Complaining

So, I know I have been slack and haven't written a blog in a week or so. That is because I have been working on getting stuff ready for Upward Basketball/Cheerleading at my church. I am a cheerleading coach as well as a worker in the concession stands. But, the part that I am going to focus on in this blog entry is the concession stands. As a worker, I have to work for 2 hours with the help of a few other people, and we earn EASY money. The food is already prepared, we just have to deal with people and take their money. And their, money ends up becoming our money for missions (any youth going on missions or anyone older going on mission through the IMB...which is what I am hopefully doing). Anyway, one day, I was there and I witnessed one of the youth complaining. Literally, this person would not STOP complaining about how they had better stuff to do with their time and they didn't want to do this. I WAS COMPLETELY BAFFLED. I just wanted to shake the person while explaining to them that it was a BLESSING for them to work and earn money for the trip! Did they not realize that some people have to work TEN TIMES HARDER and do a much more difficult job for the amount of money that each person makes through the concession stands. Why was this person complaining so much? It was so irritating.

Later, I was thinking about it, and I realized that everyone complains so much over EVERY little thing. I know that I complain when my parents ask me to do stuff that I don't want to do, when I have too much schoolwork, and all sorts of other petty things in life. But everything in my life is a BLESSING. Man, what if my parents DIDN'T ask me to do things in life that I didn't want to do? I wouldn't have a good work ethic. What if I DIDN't have schoolwork? I wouldn't have the education that I do. All of the things I complain about have made me into the person that I am today. I wouldn't be where I am without everything that has occured in my life. Some things I have no right to brag about, of course, but I have grown to be a strong, independent, woman of God because of everything that has happened in my life. I am a blessed person.

Back to complaining: I was reminded of my favorite bible verse: Colossians 3:23. It pretty much says that whatever you do, do it for God and nobody else. When I complain, I am not doing anything that glorifies God. So, I need to stop doing it. I know for a fact that if God were standing before me or you (I feel that I can speak for y'all), we would not be complaining about our lives. No! We would worship Him and be grateful for everything we have. Guys, I had to realize that God is WITH ME RIGHT THIS MINUTE. He sees me and hears me every second of every day. That means that I need to have a grateful mindset rather than one where I am constantly thinking of how things could be better.

Job was a man who pretty much lost everything in an instant. He lost his family, his wealth, everything he had worked for all of his life. I can only imagine what he felt like. If anyone deserved to complain, it would be him. But did we find him complaining to God? No, he tore off his clothes, fell down, and worshipped God, knowing that he wasn't worthy of anything. I need to work on being more like Job in a sense. Instead of complaining, I need to have a reality check, realize who I am compared to God (and the answer is nothing in case anyone was wondering), and realize that everything in life is a blessing (the good and the bad).